Pattern matching method selection

ABSTRACT

A system and method for performing pattern matching to locate zero or more instances of a template image in a target image. An image is received by a computer from an image source, e.g., a camera. First pattern matching is performed on the image using a first pattern matching technique to determine a plurality of candidate areas. Second pattern matching is performed on each of the candidate areas using a second different pattern matching technique to generate final pattern match results. An output is generated indicating the final pattern match results. The second pattern matching may determine a second plurality of candidate areas which may be analyzed to determine the final pattern match results. The first pattern matching may use a plurality of pattern matching techniques, the results of which may be used to select a best technique from the plurality of techniques to use for the second pattern match.

CONTINUATION DATA

This is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/100,418 now U.S. Pat. No. 7,233,996 titled “Pattern Matching Using Multiple Techniques” and filed Mar. 18, 2002, whose inventors were Lothar Wenzel, Nicolas Vazquez and Kevin L. Schultz and Dinesh Nair.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to improved methods for performing pattern matching to locate one or more instances of a template image in a target image. More specifically, the invention includes a method for performing pattern matching using a plurality of pattern matching techniques.

DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART

In many applications it is necessary or desired to find a template image, image object, or pattern in a target image. Such applications include machine vision applications for manufacturing test, inspection, process monitoring, feedback control, and laboratory automation; image and video compression; and jitter compensation in video cameras, among others.

Prior art pattern recognition systems have typically used a template matching technique wherein the stored image or pattern to be located, referred to as the template, is iteratively compared with various corresponding portions of an image in which it is desired to locate the template, referred to as the target image. FIG. 1 illustrates the pattern matching problem as known in the prior art. As shown, the pattern matching problem involves a template image, wherein one or more instances of the template image are desired to be located in the target image. The template image and the target image are provided to a pattern matching algorithm which performs the pattern matching. The pattern matching algorithm generally operates to compare the pixels in the template image, or a selected subset of sample pixels, against each of the possible various locations in the target image. Typically, the pattern matching algorithm involves comparing the template image, or a subset of sample pixels representing the template image, against locations in the target image on a horizontal pixel column basis and horizontal scan line basis. In other words, the sample pixels representing the template image are compared against a portion of the pixels in the target image, such as by using a 2D correlation, the sample pixels representing the template are then moved down or across a one pixel scan line or one pixel column in the target image, and the pattern matching algorithm is repeated, etc. Thus, the pattern matching algorithm generally involves comparing the template image pixels against all possible locations in the target image in an iterative fashion. The pattern matching produces the location of the template in the image, the quality of match and possibly the orientation, size and/or scaling of the template.

Generally, prior to performing the pattern matching algorithm, the pattern or template image may be characterized. FIG. 2 illustrates the pattern matching process of the prior art which involves characterization of the template image to extract features from the template image. In other words, the template is characterized to represent the template image with a lesser amount of data. For example, the template image may be characterized by sampling a number of points or pixels, referred to as sample pixels, which presumably accurately characterize the template image. The template image is characterized in this fashion because the time required for the pattern matching is generally directly proportional to the number of points or pixels representing the template image which are used in the pattern matching. Thus the template is characterized to reduce the number of samples or pixels which are used in the correlation operation, thereby reducing the amount of computation. Once a lesser number of sample pixels have been generated, these sample pixels are then used in the pattern matching algorithm to locate instances of the template image in the target image.

The template is compared with portions of the target image, for example, by utilizing a correlation based pattern matching, i.e., using normalized two dimensional correlation (normalized 2D correlation). This 2D correlation is performed by placing the template over the respective portion of the image and performing a normalized 2D correlation between the pixels in the template and the pixels in the corresponding portion of the image. This correlation generally produces a correlation value which indicates the degree of correlation or match. For example, the correlation value may range between −1 and +1, wherein +1 indicates a complete match, 0 indicates no match, i.e., that the two images are uncorrelated, and −1 indicates that the two images are anti-correlated, i.e., a complete reversal of a match.

Other pattern matching algorithms include geometric pattern matching, where particular geometric features of the template image are detected and characterized, then sought in the target image; color matching, where the color content of the template image is compared to that of various regions of the target image, irrespective of particular forms in the images; luminance pattern matching, where intensity information is used to perform correlation- and/or geometric-based pattern matching; and hue plane pattern matching, where hue plane information (color information) is used to perform correlation- or geometric-based pattern matching; as well as rotation invariant pattern matching techniques, among others.

For many applications, a particular pattern matching algorithm, or a particular group of pattern matching algorithms, may be more effective than other algorithms at finding a match, depending on the image data. As an example, for an image with colors whose hues are very different, but whose luminance or intensity values are similar, a luminance pattern matching algorithm may perform poorly, while a hue plane pattern matching algorithm may perform quite well.

However, in many situations it may not be possible to know beforehand which technique or group of techniques would be appropriate for a matching task. Therefore, an improved system and method is desired for finding a template image or image object in a larger target image.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention comprises various embodiments of a system and method for performing pattern matching to locate zero or more instances of a template image in a target image. The pattern matching is preferably performed by one or more programs executing in a computer system. The target image is preferably acquired by the system, such as by a camera, and provided to the computer system for the pattern matching.

The pattern matching system and method of the present invention may be used in a variety of applications, such as, for example, a machine vision system. The machine vision system preferably comprises a host computer and a video source, e.g., a camera, which preferably produces a video signal comprising an image or a sequence of images or video frames, or other data desired to be acquired. The video signal is provided through a wire or cabling to the host computer for storage and/or processing. The host computer includes various standard components, such as at least one CPU, memory, etc.

The computer may receive the target image from an image source (e.g., a camera) and perform pattern matching using the stored template image. In other embodiments, the computer may receive the target image and/or the template image from another source, or one or both of the target image and the template image may be pre-stored on the computer.

The host computer receives and/or stores the template image or pattern, as well as software which performs pattern matching to locate zero or more instances of the template image in the target image. In some embodiments, the software may be executable to utilize a plurality of pattern matching techniques in the pattern matching operation, various embodiments of which are described below.

In one embodiment, first pattern matching may be performed on the image using a first pattern matching technique to determine a plurality of candidate areas. Then, second pattern matching may be performed on each of the candidate areas using a second different pattern matching technique to generate final pattern match results. The first and second pattern matching techniques may each be any of a variety of pattern matching techniques, provided that they differ from each other, including a geometric pattern matching technique, a correlation-based pattern matching technique, a color matching technique, a hue plane pattern matching technique, a luminance pattern matching technique, a rotation invariant pattern matching technique, or any other pattern matching technique, provided that the first and second pattern matching techniques are different. In another embodiment, at least one of the first pattern matching technique and the second pattern matching technique may use a hill-climbing technique.

In one embodiment, performing the first pattern matching may include generating a first pattern matching score for each of the plurality of candidate areas, where the pattern matching score is a measure of the degree to which the respective candidate area matches the pattern or template image. Determining the plurality of candidate areas may then be based on the first pattern matching scores. Similarly, performing second pattern matching may include generating a second pattern matching score for each of the plurality of candidate areas, where generating the final pattern match results may be based on the second pattern matching scores. In another embodiment, the final pattern match results may be determined based on both the first pattern matching scores and the second pattern matching scores.

In another embodiment, the first pattern matching technique may be a coarse or ‘low resolution’ pattern matching technique, and the second pattern matching technique may be a fine or ‘high resolution’ pattern matching technique. For example, the first pattern matching technique may include sub-sampling or under-sampling the template image and the target image, i.e., performing pattern matching on the image using a subset of the image pixels. Once the candidate areas have been determined by the first pattern matching technique, the second pattern matching technique may be applied to each candidate area, using all or substantially all of the image pixels in each candidate area, or using more samples than the coarse technique. In one embodiment, the second pattern matching technique may differ from the first pattern matching technique only in resolution. Thus, in one embodiment, each of the pattern matching techniques may be performed on the image with one or more of complete sampling, over-sampling, and under-sampling or sub-sampling. As is well known in the art, there are many ways in which an image may be sampled to efficiently extract features from the image. One example of an efficient approach to sub-sampling is sampling using a Low Discrepancy sequence.

Finally, an output may be generated indicating the final pattern match results. For example, the results may be stored in memory, output to an external system, and/or displayed on a display device, such as a computer monitor or printer.

In another embodiment, a plurality of pattern matching techniques may be applied to the image and the results analyzed to determine final match results, as described below.

A plurality of pattern matching operations (which may be referred to as the “first pattern matching”) may be performed on the received image using a plurality of different pattern matching techniques. Two or more of the plurality of different pattern matching techniques may be performed concurrently or in parallel as discussed below. The first pattern matching may thereby determine a plurality of candidate areas for each of the plurality of different pattern matching techniques. The plurality of candidate areas produced by each of the plurality of different pattern matching techniques may then be analyzed to determine pattern match results.

In one embodiment, performing the first pattern matching on the image using a plurality of different pattern matching techniques may include calculating a matching score for each of the plurality of candidate areas. The matching scores may then be analyzed to determine the pattern match results. In one embodiment, the matching scores may be weighted according to the pattern matching technique used. For example, calculating a matching score for each of the plurality of candidate areas may include: for each respective candidate area of the plurality of candidate areas, calculating a raw score corresponding to each pattern matching technique, weighting each raw score according to the corresponding pattern matching technique, the sampling factor used, or other criteria, to generate a set of weighted scores for the respective candidate area, and generating a matching score based on the set of weighted scores.

In an exemplary embodiment, first pattern matching may be performed on the image using a first pattern matching technique to determine a first plurality of candidate areas, as described above. In addition, second pattern matching may be performed (possibly concurrently) on the image using a second different pattern matching technique to generate a second plurality of candidate areas. The first and second pattern matching techniques may each be any of a variety of pattern matching techniques, provided that they differ from each other, including a geometric pattern matching technique, a correlation-based pattern matching technique, a color matching technique, a hue plane pattern matching technique, a luminance pattern matching technique, a rotation invariant pattern matching technique, or any other pattern matching technique, provided that the first and second pattern matching techniques are different. The first and second pattern matching techniques may also be different versions or types of the same technique. For example, the first pattern matching technique may be a first type of geometric pattern matching technique, and the second pattern matching technique may be a second different type of geometric pattern matching technique. In another embodiment, at least one of the first pattern matching technique and the second pattern matching technique may use a hill-climbing technique. In this embodiment, the first and second pattern matching techniques may be performed at least partially concurrently, as described above.

The first plurality of candidate areas and the second plurality of candidate areas may then be analyzed to determine final pattern match results, for example, to determine one or more final candidate areas common to the first plurality of candidate areas and the second plurality of candidate areas.

In another embodiment, a pattern matching score may be generated by the two pattern matching techniques for each of the first plurality of candidate areas and for each of the second plurality of candidate areas, respectively. The analyzing may then include analyzing the pattern matching scores for each of the first plurality of candidate areas and the second plurality of candidate areas to generate the final pattern match results. For example, the common candidate areas may be culled based on the scores, discarding candidate areas whose scores fall below a threshold value. For another example, the two scores corresponding to each common candidate area may be combined to generate a final score for each common candidate area, and these final scores used to determine the final match results. In one embodiment, the scores may be combined in a weighted sum, where each score is weighted based on the particular pattern matching technique used to determine the candidate area (and to generate the score). In another embodiment, the analysis may include generating a ‘vote’ corresponding to each of the pattern matching techniques, where each vote indicates a best match candidate area for the respective technique. The votes may be tallied, and the candidate area receiving the most votes considered the best match.

In one embodiment, the method may further include performing third pattern matching on the image using a third different pattern matching technique to determine a third plurality of candidate areas. In this embodiment, the analyzing may also include analyzing the third plurality of candidate areas to determine final pattern match results. Thus, rather than just analyzing the first and second candidate areas to determine the final match results, the first, second, and third candidate areas may be analyzed as described above to determine the final match results.

Other embodiments are also contemplated where additional pattern matching is performed on the image using additional pattern matching techniques, thereby generating corresponding further candidate areas for analysis. The methods described herein may be generalized to any number of pattern matching methods or operations using any number of different techniques.

In one embodiment, first pattern matching may be performed on the image using a plurality of different pattern matching techniques, where the pattern matching determines a plurality of candidate areas for each of the plurality of different pattern matching techniques, as described above.

Then, the plurality of candidate areas produced by each of the plurality of different pattern matching techniques may be analyzed to determine a plurality of intermediate candidate areas. Various examples of this analysis are described above.

Second pattern matching may then be performed on each of the intermediate candidate areas using a high-resolution pattern matching technique, thereby generating pattern match results. In other words, a pattern matching technique may be used which requires greater resources and/or time to perform than each of the plurality of pattern matching techniques used in the first pattern matching. Thus, the plurality of pattern matching techniques may narrow the search areas to be searched by the more expensive (in terms of cycles and/or time) pattern matching technique, i.e., the high-resolution technique. It is noted that as used herein, the term “high-resolution” may refer to pixel resolution, number of calculations, or any other metric which characterizes the time and/or resources required to perform the pattern matching technique.

Finally, an output may be generated indicating the pattern match results, as described above.

In another embodiment, the first pattern matching may be performed on the image using a first pattern matching technique, thereby determining a first plurality of candidate areas. Second pattern matching may be performed on the image, or on each of the first plurality of candidate areas, using a second different pattern matching technique, thereby generating a second plurality of candidate areas. The first plurality of candidate areas and the second plurality of candidate areas may then be analyzed to determine a third plurality of candidate areas. In one embodiment, the third plurality of candidate areas may include candidate areas which are common to the first plurality of candidate areas and the second plurality of candidate areas. In another embodiment, a pattern matching score may be generated for each of the first plurality of candidate areas, and for each of the second plurality of candidate areas, where the pattern matching scores for each of the first plurality of candidate areas and the second plurality of candidate areas may be analyzed to generate the third plurality of candidate areas. For another example, the two scores corresponding to each common candidate area may be combined to generate a final score for each common candidate area, and these final scores used to determine the third plurality of candidate areas. Third pattern matching may then be performed on each of the third plurality of candidate areas using a third different pattern matching technique, thereby generating final pattern match results. In one embodiment, the first pattern matching and second pattern matching may each comprise coarse pattern matching, and the third pattern matching may comprises fine pattern matching.

In another embodiment, the first pattern matching may be used to determine the manner in which second pattern matching is performed. In one embodiment, the first pattern matching may comprise coarse or ‘low resolution’ pattern matching, and may determine a plurality of coarse candidate areas for each of the plurality of different pattern matching techniques. Then, the coarse candidate areas may be analyzed to determine selected one or more pattern matching techniques. The selected one or more pattern matching techniques may at least in part be based on a metric which indicates a desired characteristic of the selected pattern matching techniques.

In one embodiment, a user may specify a metric indicating desired pattern matching performance. The metric may be specified, for example, using a Graphical User Interface (GUI) control, where the GUI is presented to the user by a program executing on the computer system. The Graphical User Interface (GUI) control may include a slider control which is operable by the user to select a value indicating a degree of the desired characteristic.

For example, the metric may indicate a desired degree of speed for the subset of pattern matching techniques, or, the metric may indicate a desired degree of accuracy for the subset of pattern matching techniques. In one embodiment, the metric may indicate a desired degree of accuracy or speed for the subset of pattern matching techniques, where the accuracy and speed are inversely related. Thus, the GUI may present a slider control to the user which allows the user to select the degree to which speed, or inversely, accuracy, should be considered when selecting the subset of pattern matching techniques.

Second pattern matching may then be performed on each of the plurality of coarse candidate areas using the subset of pattern matching techniques determined above. The second pattern matching is preferably fine or ‘high resolution’ pattern matching, and so may determine one or more fine candidate areas for each of the subset of pattern matching techniques. The one or more fine candidate areas produced by each of the subset of pattern matching techniques may then be analyzed to determine final pattern match results, as described above.

In another embodiment, first pattern matching may be performed on the image using a first pattern matching technique, thereby determining a first plurality of candidate areas. Then, second pattern matching may be performed on the image using a second different pattern matching technique, thereby generating a second plurality of candidate areas.

Third pattern matching may then be performed on the first plurality of candidate areas using the second pattern matching technique to generate first pattern match results, and fourth pattern matching may be performed on the second plurality of candidate areas using the first pattern matching technique to generate second pattern match results. Thus the first and second pattern matching techniques are each applied to the results of the other respective technique.

In one embodiment, the first and second pattern matching may each comprise coarse pattern matching on the image, and the third and fourth pattern matching may each comprise fine pattern matching on the image.

The first match results and the second match results may then be analyzed to determine final pattern match results. In one embodiment, generating the first and second pattern match results may include generating third and fourth candidate areas, respectively, and so the third and fourth candidate areas may be analyzed as described above to determine final pattern match results.

In yet another embodiment, first pattern matching may be performed on an image, such as a test image, using a plurality of different pattern matching techniques, thereby determining one or more candidate areas for each of the plurality of different pattern matching techniques. The plurality of candidate areas produced by each of the plurality of different pattern matching techniques may be analyzed to select two or more of the pattern matching techniques from the plurality of pattern matching techniques. In one embodiment, the selection may be made based on a desired characteristic of a pattern matching task, such as, for example, match accuracy or speed/performance. Thus, the results of the first pattern matching using each of the plurality of pattern matching techniques may be analyzed to determine which two or more of the pattern matching techniques are most suitable for images of the first type. The selection may be made based on any of a variety of characteristics, including match scores, speed, and accuracy, among others. In one embodiment, where the image is a test image containing known matches that match to varying degrees, the method may select the two or more pattern matching techniques that produce the best results, i.e., that most accurately reflect the known matches. For example, the test image may contain one or more template instances or matches of varying degrees, and the selection may be based on which pattern matching techniques find the template instances, or which pattern matching techniques produce match scores which most closely match the expected scores from the test image.

As mentioned above, software executing on the computer system may present a Graphical User Interface (GUI) to the user which operates to receive user input specifying the desired characteristic prior to the analyzing. For example, the user may specify the desired characteristic using a GUI control, such as a slider control, whereby the user may select a value indicating a degree of the desired characteristic, as described above.

After the selection of two or more pattern matching techniques has been made, a plurality of images of the first type may be received. In other words, more images may be received which are of the same type as the image received above. Then, pattern matching may be performed on each of the plurality of images of the first type using the selected two or more of the pattern matching techniques, thereby generating pattern match results.

Finally, as described above, an output may be generated indicating the pattern match results.

In one embodiment, the first pattern matching may comprise coarse pattern matching, and may be performed on the image using the plurality of different pattern matching techniques to determine one or more coarse candidate areas for each of the plurality of different pattern matching techniques. Performing the coarse pattern matching may include generating a match score associated with each pattern matching technique for each coarse candidate area.

Best scores may be determined from the match scores, indicating best pattern matches. In this embodiment, the selection of the two or more pattern matching techniques may include selecting two or more pattern matching techniques from the plurality of different pattern matching techniques based on the best scores. In other words, a high match score may be the desired characteristic used to select the preferred pattern matching techniques.

In this embodiment, the method may then perform fine pattern matching on each of the plurality of coarse candidate areas using the selected pattern matching techniques to determine the one or more final match candidate areas, which may then be output, as described above.

In one embodiment, all or at least a portion of the various pattern matching operations may be performed contemporaneously, for example, using a multiprocessor computer system. As one example, a first pattern matching operation may be performed by one or more first processors, while a second pattern matching operation may be performed substantially concurrently by one or more second processors. Alternatively, a first pattern matching operation and a second pattern matching operation may execute concurrently in one or more programmable hardware elements, such as field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). In another embodiment, the first and second pattern matching operations may be performed concurrently using one or more processors and one or more programmable hardware elements. In another embodiment, a first pattern matching operation may be performed by one or more first execution threads in a multi-threaded system, while a second pattern matching may be performed concurrently by one or more second execution threads in the multi-threaded system. In yet another embodiment, the computer system may include multiple computers coupled over a network, such as the Internet, where the first and second pattern matching operations are performed by respective different computers.

Thus, the systems and methods as described above may use a plurality of pattern matching techniques to detect a pattern or template image in a target image.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A better understanding of the present invention can be obtained when the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment is considered in conjunction with the following drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates pattern matching as performed in the prior art;

FIG. 2 illustrates pattern matching performed in the prior art;

FIG. 3 illustrates a machine vision system according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a high-level block diagram of the machine vision system;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart diagram illustrating a first embodiment of a pattern matching method according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 6A and 6B are flowchart diagrams illustrating a second embodiment of a pattern matching method according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIGS. 7A-7C are flowchart diagrams illustrating a third embodiment of a pattern matching method according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart diagram illustrating a fourth embodiment of a pattern matching method according to one embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 9 is a flowchart diagram illustrating a fifth embodiment of a pattern matching method according to one embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Incorporation by Reference

The following U.S. patents and patent applications are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety as though fully and completely set forth herein.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/100,418 titled “Pattern Matching Using Multiple Techniques”, filed Mar. 18, 2002, whose inventors are Lothar Wenzel, Nicolas Vazquez and Kevin L. Schultz and Dinesh Nair.

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/832,912, titled “System and Method for Image Pattern Matching Using a Unified Signal Transform”, filed on Apr. 10, 2001, whose inventors are Ram Rajagopal, Lothar Wenzel, Dinesh Nair and Darren Schmidt;

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/014,945, titled “Locating Regions in a Target Image Using Color matching, Luminance Pattern Matching, and Hue Plane Pattern Matching”, filed on Oct. 26, 2001, whose inventors are Darren R. Schmidt, Kevin L. Schultz, Siming Lin and Dinesh Nair, which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,944,331; and

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/005,548titled “Locating Regions in a Target Image Using Color Match, Luminance Pattern Match and Hill-Climbing Techniques”, filed on Oct. 26, 2001, and whose inventors are, Siming Lin, Dinesh Nair, and Darren R. Schmidt, which issued as U.S. Pat. No. 7,039,229.

The following publications are hereby incorporated by reference as though fully and completely set forth herein.

“Numerical Recipes in Fortran 77: The Art of Scientific Computing” (ISBN 0-521-43064-X), Cambridge University Press, pgs. 299-306;

“State-of-the-Art in Shape Matching”, by Remco C. Veltkamp and Michiel Hagedoorn, Utrecht University, Department of Computing Science, The Netherlands.

The present invention comprises various embodiments of a system and method for performing pattern matching. The pattern matching system and method of the present invention may be used in a number of different applications including various types of machine vision systems, e.g., industrial automation, robotic vision, or traffic analysis, and image or video compression, such as MPEG compression, among others.

The present invention also comprises various embodiments of a system and method for using multiple pattern matching techniques to detect a pattern in an image. This system and method for detecting a pattern in an image may also be used in a large number of different applications, such as pattern matching, image compression, video compression, archival of image data, etc.

As used herein, the term “pattern” refers to an image or a portion of an image that is desired to be located in a target or acquired image. The term “pattern” may also refer to a characteristic of an image or image portion.

FIG. 3—Machine Vision System

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a machine vision application wherein the pattern matching system and method of the present invention may be used. The machine vision system may comprise a host computer 102 and a video source 112. The video source may be an analog or digital camera. The video source 112 preferably produces a digital video signal which comprises an image or a sequence of images or video frames, or other data desired to be acquired. The digital video signal may be provided through a wire or cabling 122 to the host computer 102 for storage and/or processing. The host computer may include an image acquisition or frame grabber board (also called a video capture board). The host computer 102 preferably includes various standard components, such as at least one CPU, memory, etc.

The host computer 102 may store a template image or pattern. In one embodiment, the host computer 102 may also store software which performs pattern matching to locate zero or more instances of the template image in the target image. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the software is executable to utilize a plurality of pattern matching techniques in the pattern matching operation, as will be described below.

In the embodiment of FIG. 3, the host computer 102 may receive the target image from the video source 112 and perform pattern matching using the stored template image. However, in other embodiments, the computer 102 may receive the target image and/or the template image from another source, or one or both of the target image and the template image may be pre-stored on the computer.

FIG. 3 illustrates a machine vision application, where the computer system 102 is coupled to a camera 112 and operates to receive a target image and perform pattern matching to locate one or more instances of a template image in the target image. The computer system of FIG. 3 is programmed according to one embodiment of the present invention to apply a plurality of pattern matching techniques to the target image to detect and locate the template image in the target image. The pattern matching and/or image characterization techniques of the present invention may be used in various types of machine vision applications. For example, the computer 102 may be embodied in various form factors and/or architectures, e.g., a robot, among others. It is also noted that the pattern matching and/or image characterization techniques of the present invention may be performed in any of various manners, either in software, programmable logic, or hardware, or a combination thereof.

FIG. 4—Video Capture System Block Diagram

FIG. 4 is a high-level block diagram of the video capture system of FIG. 3. It is noted that the block diagram of FIG. 4 is exemplary only, and other computer system architectures may be used as desired. For example, embodiments of the present invention may be implemented in a “smart camera”, for example, which integrates a sensor, analog to digital (A/D) converter, CPU and communications devices together in a single unit. The present invention may be embodied in other architectures or embodiments, as desired.

As shown in FIG. 4, the host computer 102 preferably comprises a CPU 202, a Bus Bridge 204, system memory 206, and a peripheral bus 212. The CPU 202 is coupled to the Bus Bridge 204. The Bus Bridge 204 is coupled to the system memory 206 and the CPU 202, and couples to the peripheral bus 212. In the preferred embodiment, the peripheral bus 212 is the PCI expansion bus, although that other types of buses may be used.

In this embodiment, the host computer system 102 also includes a video capture board 214 which is adapted for coupling to the video source 112. The video capture board 214 is preferably coupled to the peripheral bus 212. In addition to the video capture board 214, other peripheral devices (216 and 218) may be coupled to the peripheral bus 212, such as audio cards, modems, graphics cards, network cards, etc.

The video source 112 supplies the video signals to the video capture board 214. The video capture board 214 transfers the digitized video frames to the system memory 206 through peripheral bus 212 and Bus Bridge 204. In this embodiment, the video capture board 214 acquires the target image and transfers the target image to system memory 206. Thus, the computer system 102 includes an input which is operable to receive image data.

The system memory 206 preferably stores a template image or pattern. The system memory 206 also preferably stores software according to one embodiment of the present invention which operates to use a plurality of pattern matching techniques to detect and locate instances of the pattern in the target image.

Embodiments of the present invention are preferably implemented in one or more software programs which are executable by one or more processors or CPUs. The software program(s) of the present invention are preferably stored in a memory medium. As used herein, the term “memory medium” is intended to include an installation media, e.g., a CD-ROM, DVD, or floppy disks, a computer system memory such as DRAM, SRAM, EDO RAM, etc., or a non-volatile memory such as a magnetic medium, e.g., a hard drive, or optical storage, among other types of memory.

In another embodiment, the methods presented herein may be performed by programmable hardware, such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA). In other embodiments, the methods may be performed by a combination of one or more processors and one or more programmable hardware elements.

FIG. 5—Pattern Matching Flowchart: First Embodiment

FIG. 5 is a flowchart diagram illustrating a method for performing pattern matching according to one embodiment of the present invention. More specifically, the method uses a plurality of pattern matching techniques to detect a pattern or template image in a target image. It is noted that in various embodiments, some of the steps may be performed in a different order than shown or may be omitted, as desired. Additional steps may also be performed.

As shown, in 502 the image, i.e., the target image, may be received by and/or stored in the computer system. The image may be received from any of various sources, as desired, including an image source coupled to the computer system over a network. It is noted than in other embodiments, the image may already be present in the computer system, and thus step 502 may be omitted. In this embodiment, the pattern (template image) is already stored in the computer system, although in other embodiments the pattern or template image may be received prior to or after reception of the target image.

In 504 first pattern matching may be performed on the image using a first pattern matching technique to determine a first plurality of candidate areas.

Additionally, in 506 second pattern matching may be performed on each of the first plurality of candidate areas using a second different pattern matching technique to generate final pattern match results. In various embodiments, the first and second pattern matching techniques may each be any of a variety of pattern matching techniques, provided that they differ from each other.

For example, in one embodiment, the first pattern matching technique may be a geometric pattern matching technique. Consequently, in this embodiment, the second pattern matching technique may be any pattern matching technique which differs from the geometric pattern matching technique used in the first pattern matching, e.g., a correlation-based pattern matching technique or a different type of geometric pattern matching technique. In another embodiment, the first pattern matching technique may be a correlation-based pattern matching technique. Consequently, in this embodiment, the second pattern matching technique may be any different pattern matching technique, e.g., a geometric pattern matching technique. Thus, in one embodiment, the first pattern matching technique may be a correlation-based pattern matching technique, and the second pattern matching technique may be a geometric pattern matching technique. In another embodiment, the first pattern matching technique may be a first type of correlation-based technique, and the second pattern matching technique may be a second, different type of correlation-based technique. The first and second pattern matching techniques may also be different versions or types of the same technique. For example, the first pattern matching technique may be a first type of geometric pattern matching technique, and the second pattern matching technique may be a second different type of geometric pattern matching technique. Further examples of first and second pattern matching techniques are presented below, although it is noted that these examples are meant to be illustrative, and are not intended to limit the pattern matching techniques used to those described.

As one example, the first pattern matching technique may be a color matching technique, and the second pattern matching technique may be a geometric pattern matching technique. As another example, the first pattern matching technique may be a color matching technique, and the second pattern matching technique may be a hue plane pattern matching technique. Conversely, the first pattern matching technique may be a hue plane pattern matching technique, and the second pattern matching technique may be a color matching technique.

More generally, in one embodiment, the first pattern matching technique and the second pattern matching technique may each be one of a hue plane pattern matching technique, a color matching technique, a correlation-based pattern matching technique, a geometric pattern matching technique, and a luminance pattern matching technique, where, as mentioned above, the first pattern matching technique is a different technique from the second pattern matching technique. It is noted that these pattern matching techniques are meant to be exemplary only, and are not intended to limit the particular pattern matching techniques used in any of the embodiments of the invention. For example, in other embodiments, rotation invariant pattern matching may be performed by sampling the template image along one or more rotationally invariant paths, preferably circular perimeters, to produce one or more sets of sample pixels. These sample pixels from the circular paths may then be used in the pattern matching.

Other pattern matching techniques also contemplated include sampling based on low discrepancy sequences, sampling based on low discrepancy curves, as well as using hill-climbing algorithms in the pattern match search. For further information regarding pattern matching techniques, please see “State-of-the-Art in Shape Matching”, by Remco C. Veltkamp and Michiel Hagedoorn, Utrecht University, Department of Computing Science, as well as U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/832,912, titled “System and Method for Image Pattern Matching Using a Unified Signal Transform”, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/014,945, titled “Locating Regions in a Target Image Using Color Matching, Luminance Pattern Matching, and Hue Plane Pattern Matching”, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,944,331, and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/005,548, titled “Locating Regions in a Target Image Using Color Match, Luminance Pattern Match and Hill-Climbing Techniques”, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,039,229, each of which was incorporated by reference above.

For more information on low discrepancy sequences, please see “Numerical Recipes in Fortran 77: The Art of Scientific Computing” (ISBN 0-521-43064-X) Cambridge University Press, pgs. 299-306, which was incorporated by reference above.

In one embodiment, performing first pattern matching may include generating a first pattern matching score for each of the plurality of candidate areas, where the pattern matching score is a measure of the degree to which the respective candidate area matches the pattern or template image. In this embodiment, determining the plurality of candidate areas may be based on the first pattern matching scores. Similarly, performing second pattern matching may include generating a second pattern matching score for each of the plurality of candidate areas, where generating the final pattern match results may be based on the second pattern matching scores. In another embodiment, the final pattern match results may be determined based on both the first pattern matching scores and the second pattern matching scores.

In one embodiment, performing second pattern matching on each of the first plurality of candidate areas may include performing second pattern matching on each candidate area and on the area proximate to the candidate area. In other words, performing pattern matching on a candidate area may also include applying the pattern matching technique to an area surrounding the candidate area.

In another embodiment, the first pattern matching technique may be a coarse pattern matching technique, and the second pattern matching technique may be a fine pattern matching technique. In one embodiment, the second pattern matching technique may differ from the first pattern matching technique only in resolution. For example, the first pattern matching technique may include sub-sampling the template image and the target image, i.e., performing pattern matching on the image using a subset of the image pixels. Once the candidate areas have been determined by the first pattern matching technique, the second pattern matching technique may be applied to each candidate area using all or substantially all of the image pixels in each candidate area. Thus, the first pattern matching technique may be a ‘low resolution’ technique which may be performed relatively quickly, while the second pattern matching technique may be a ‘high resolution’ technique, requiring more time or cycles to perform.

In one embodiment, performing second pattern matching on each of the first candidate areas using a second different pattern matching technique may include generating a second plurality of candidate areas, where the second plurality of candidate areas comprise a subset of the first plurality of candidate areas. The second plurality of candidate areas may then be analyzed to determine the final pattern match results. For example, one or more best matches may be selected from the second plurality of candidate areas. The final match results may then comprise these best match candidate areas.

In another embodiment, both the first and second pluralities of candidate areas may be analyzed to determine the final match results. For example, it may be the case that a candidate area determined by the first pattern matching technique matches so closely that even if it is not included in the second plurality of candidate areas, it may still be considered a match, and therefore may be included in the final match results.

In one embodiment, at least a portion of the second pattern matching may be performed contemporaneously with the first pattern matching. For example, when a first candidate area of the first plurality of candidate areas has been generated by the first pattern matching, the second pattern matching may begin processing the first candidate area while the first pattern matching continues generating subsequent candidate areas of the first plurality of candidate areas. In other words, as the first pattern matching generates each of the first plurality of candidate areas, the second pattern matching may proceed, applying the second pattern matching technique to the generated candidate areas as they are generated by the first pattern matching. Thus, the second pattern matching may be performed on the first candidate area, while the first pattern matching is generating the second, or subsequent, candidate areas of the first plurality of candidate areas, and so on, such that as each of the first plurality of candidate areas is generated by the first pattern matching, they are “passed” to the second pattern matching process for processing. Said another way, the first pattern matching and the second pattern matching may be “pipelined” to achieve a measure of concurrency. As used herein, the term “contemporaneously” includes substantially or partly contemporaneously. Similarly, as used herein, the term “concurrently” includes substantially or partly concurrently.

In one embodiment, the second pattern matching may be performed concurrently with the first pattern matching using a multiprocessor computer system. For example, the first pattern matching may be performed by one or more first processors, while the second pattern matching may be performed by one or more second processors, where the one or more first processors and the one or more second processors operate concurrently, or at least partly concurrently.

In one embodiment, the second pattern matching may be performed concurrently with the first pattern matching using a plurality of programmable hardware elements, such as field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs). In another embodiment, the second pattern matching may be performed concurrently with the first pattern matching using one or more processors and one or more programmable hardware elements.

In another embodiment, the first pattern matching may be performed by one or more first execution threads in a multi-threaded system, while the second pattern matching may be performed by one or more second execution threads in the multi-threaded system.

In yet another embodiment, the computer system may include multiple computers coupled over a network, such as the Internet, where the first pattern matching is performed by one or more first computers, and the second pattern matching is performed by one or more second computers concurrently.

It is noted that in further embodiments, successive different pattern matching techniques may be applied respectively to successive pluralities of candidate areas, where the application of each pattern matching technique culls the respective plurality of candidate areas to generate a successive plurality of candidate areas. Thus, the first plurality of candidate areas may be successively refined (culled or filtered) by repeated pattern matching using a succession of different pattern matching techniques.

Finally, in 508, an output may be generated indicating the final pattern match results. For example, the results may be stored in memory, output to an external system, and/or displayed on a display device, such as a computer monitor or printer.

FIGS. 6A and 6B—Pattern Matching Flowchart: Second Embodiment

FIGS. 6A and 6B are flowchart diagrams illustrating a method for performing pattern matching according to another embodiment of the present invention. The method uses multiple pattern matching techniques to detect a pattern or template image in a target image. As mentioned above, in various embodiments, some of the steps may be performed in a different order than shown or may be omitted, as desired. Additional steps may also be performed.

FIG. 6A illustrates an embodiment in which a plurality of pattern matching techniques are performed on an image, and the results analyzed to determine pattern matching results, as described below.

As shown, in 502 the image, i.e., the target image, may be received by and/or stored in the computer system, as described above with reference to FIG. 5.

In 604, pattern matching (also referred to as first pattern matching) may be performed on the image using a plurality of different pattern matching techniques, where the pattern matching determines a plurality of candidate areas for each of the plurality of different pattern matching techniques. As mentioned above, any of a variety of different pattern matching techniques may be used to perform the pattern matching, including hue plane pattern matching, color matching, correlation-based pattern matching, geometric pattern matching, and a luminance pattern matching, among others.

In one embodiment, all or at least a portion of the pattern matching may be performed contemporaneously, as described above with reference to FIG. 5. For example, various of the pattern matching techniques may be performed concurrently using a multiprocessor computer system, a plurality of programmable hardware elements, such as FPGAs, or a combination of both. In another embodiment, the pattern matching techniques may be performed by two or more execution threads in a multi-threaded system, or by multiple computers coupled over a network, such as the Internet, where the pattern matching techniques are performed in a concurrent, or at least substantially concurrent manner.

In 608, the plurality of candidate areas produced by each of the plurality of different pattern matching techniques may be analyzed to determine pattern match results. In one embodiment, analyzing the each of the plurality of candidate areas may include determining one or more final candidate areas which are common to two or more of the pluralities of candidate areas, where the final pattern match results include the one or more final candidate areas.

In another embodiment, the method may include generating a pattern matching score for each of the candidate areas in each plurality of candidate areas, where the analyzing includes analyzing the pattern matching scores to generate the final pattern match results. Thus, if a candidate area were common to three different pluralities of candidate areas corresponding to three different pattern matching techniques, the candidate area would have three different pattern match scores. In one example, the common candidate areas mentioned above may be culled based on the scores, discarding candidate areas whose scores fall below a threshold value. For another example, the plurality of scores corresponding to each common candidate area may be combined to generate a final score for each common candidate area, and these final scores used to determine the final match results. In one embodiment, the scores may be combined in a weighted sum, where each score is weighted based on the particular pattern matching technique used to determine the candidate area (and to generate the score). For example, calculating a matching score for each of the plurality of candidate areas may include: for each respective candidate area of the plurality of candidate areas, calculating a raw score corresponding to each pattern matching technique, weighting each raw score according to the corresponding pattern matching technique to generate a set of weighted scores for the respective candidate area, and generating a matching score based on the set of weighted scores.

In another embodiment, the analysis may include generating a ‘vote’ corresponding to each of the pattern matching techniques, where each vote indicates a best match candidate area for the respective technique. The votes may be tallied, and the candidate area receiving the most votes considered the best match.

Finally, in 508, an output may be generated indicating the pattern match results, as described above.

FIG. 6B illustrates another version of the method of FIG. 6A, where a first pattern matching technique and a second pattern matching technique are performed on an image, and the results analyzed to determine pattern matching results, as described below.

As shown, in 502 the image, i.e., the target image, may be received by and/or stored in the computer system. As described above with reference to FIG. 5, the image may be received from any of various sources, including an image source coupled to the computer system over a network, or the image may be pre-stored in the computer system, and so step 502 may be omitted. As also mentioned above, the pattern (template image) may already be stored in the computer system, or may be received prior to or after reception of the target image.

In 504 first pattern matching may be performed on the image using a first pattern matching technique, thereby determining a first plurality of candidate areas.

Then, in 606 second pattern matching may be performed on the image using a second different pattern matching technique, thereby generating a second plurality of candidate areas. As mentioned above with reference to FIG. 5, the first and second pattern matching techniques may include any pattern matching techniques operable to detect a pattern in an image, provided that the first and second pattern matching techniques are different.

In one embodiment, the second pattern matching may be performed contemporaneously with the first pattern matching, as described above with reference to FIG. 5. In other words, while the first pattern matching generates the first plurality of candidate areas, the second pattern matching may generate the second plurality of candidate areas, thus increasing the performance of the method.

In 608, the first plurality of candidate areas and the second plurality of candidate areas may be analyzed to determine final pattern match results, as described above with reference FIG. 6A.

Finally, in 508, an output may be generated indicating the final pattern match results, as described above with reference to FIG. 5.

As also described above with reference to FIG. 5, in various embodiments, the first and second pattern matching techniques may each be one of a hue plane pattern matching technique, a color matching technique, a correlation-based pattern matching technique, a geometric pattern matching technique, and a luminance pattern matching technique, where the first pattern matching technique is a different technique from the second pattern matching technique. In one embodiment, the first pattern matching technique may be a coarse pattern matching technique, and the second pattern matching technique may be a fine pattern matching technique, as described above. In another embodiment, at least one of the first pattern matching technique and the second pattern matching technique may use a hill-climbing technique. As also mentioned above, other pattern matching techniques are also contemplated, the above list of pattern matching techniques being but examples of techniques suitable for use in the present invention.

In one embodiment, the method may further include performing third pattern matching on the image using a third different pattern matching technique to determine a third plurality of candidate areas. In this embodiment, the analyzing may also include analyzing the third plurality of candidate areas to determine final pattern match results. Thus, rather than just analyzing the first and second candidate areas to determine the final match results, the first, second, and third candidate areas may be analyzed as described above to determine the final match results.

In one example of this embodiment, the first pattern matching technique, the second pattern matching technique, and the third pattern matching technique may each be one of a hue plane pattern matching technique, a color matching technique, a correlation-based pattern matching technique, a geometric pattern matching technique, and a luminance pattern matching technique, where the first pattern matching technique, the second pattern matching technique, and the third pattern matching technique are different.

Other embodiments are also contemplated where additional pattern matching is performed on the image using additional pattern matching techniques, thereby generating corresponding further candidate areas for analysis.

FIGS. 7A-7C—Pattern Matching Flowchart: Third Embodiment

FIGS. 7A through 7C are flowchart diagrams illustrating embodiments of a method for performing pattern matching using multiple pattern matching techniques to detect a pattern or template image in a target image. As mentioned above, in various embodiments, some of the steps may be performed in a different order than shown or may be omitted, as desired. Additional steps may also be performed. Descriptions of steps which are substantially the same as corresponding steps of FIGS. 5 and 6 may be abbreviated.

FIG. 7A illustrates a variant of the method described above with reference to FIG. 6A.

As shown in FIG. 7A, in 502 the image, i.e., the target image, may be received by and/or stored in the computer system, as described above with reference to FIG. 5.

In 604, pattern matching (also referred to as first pattern matching) may be performed on the image using a plurality of different pattern matching techniques, where the pattern matching determines a plurality of candidate areas for each of the plurality of different pattern matching techniques, as described above with reference to FIG. 6A.

Then, in 708, the plurality of candidate areas produced by each of the plurality of different pattern matching techniques may be analyzed to determine a plurality of intermediate candidate areas. Various examples of such analyses are described above in step 608 of FIG. 6A.

In 710, second pattern matching may be performed on each of the intermediate candidate areas using a high-resolution pattern matching technique, thereby generating pattern match results. In other words, a pattern matching technique may be used which requires greater resources and/or time to perform than each of the plurality of pattern matching techniques used in 704. Thus, the plurality of pattern matching techniques used in 704 may narrow the search areas to be searched by the more expensive (in terms of cycles and/or time) pattern matching technique, i.e., the high-resolution technique. It is noted that as used herein, the term “high-resolution” may refer to pixel resolution, number of calculations, or any other metric which characterizes the time and/or resources required to perform the pattern matching technique.

Finally, in 508, an output may be generated indicating the pattern match results, as described above.

FIG. 7B is a flowchart diagram illustrating a method for performing pattern matching using three different pattern matching techniques, as described below.

As FIG. 7B shows, in 502 the image may be received by and/or stored in the computer system, as described above with reference to FIG. 5.

In 504 first pattern matching may be performed on the image using a first pattern matching technique, thereby determining a first plurality of candidate areas, as also described above.

Then, in 606 second pattern matching may be performed on the image using a second different pattern matching technique, thereby generating a second plurality of candidate areas, as described above in reference to FIG. 6B. As also mentioned above, the first and second pattern matching techniques may include any pattern matching techniques operable to detect a pattern in an image, provided that the first and second pattern matching techniques are different.

As described above, in one embodiment, all or at least a portion of the second pattern matching may be performed contemporaneously with the first pattern matching. For example, the second pattern matching may be performed concurrently with the first pattern matching using a multiprocessor computer system, a plurality of programmable hardware elements, such as FPGAs, or any combination thereof. In another embodiment, the first pattern matching may be performed by one or more first execution threads in a multi-threaded system, while the second pattern matching may be performed by one or more second execution threads in the multi-threaded system. In yet another embodiment, the computer system may include multiple computers coupled over a network, such as the Internet, where the first pattern matching is performed by one or more first computers, and the second pattern matching is performed by one or more second computers.

In 708, the first plurality of candidate areas and the second plurality of candidate areas may be analyzed to determine a third plurality of candidate areas, similar to the analysis described above with reference to FIG. 7A. In one embodiment, analyzing the first plurality of candidate areas and the second plurality of candidate areas may include determining two or more candidate areas which are common to the first plurality of candidate areas and the second plurality of candidate areas, where the third plurality of candidate areas includes the two or more common candidate areas.

In another embodiment, the method may include generating a pattern matching score for each of the first plurality of candidate areas, and for each of the second plurality of candidate areas, where the analyzing includes analyzing the pattern matching scores for each of the first plurality of candidate areas and the second plurality of candidate areas to generate the third plurality of candidate areas. For example, the common candidate areas mentioned above may be culled based on the scores, discarding candidate areas whose scores fall below a threshold value, where the remaining common candidate areas comprise the third plurality of candidate areas. For another example, the two scores corresponding to each common candidate area may be combined to generate a final score for each common candidate area, and these final scores used to determine the third plurality of candidate areas. In one embodiment, the scores may be combined in a weighted sum, where each score is weighted based on the particular pattern matching technique used to determine the candidate area (and to generate the score).

In 711, third pattern matching on each of the third plurality of candidate areas may be performed using a third different pattern matching technique, thereby generating final pattern match results. The generation of the final pattern match results may include any of various analyses, as described above, e.g., calculating match scores for each candidate area, selecting one or more best matches based on the scores, etc.

In one embodiment, the first pattern matching and second pattern matching may each comprise coarse pattern matching, and the third pattern matching may comprise fine pattern matching.

Finally, in 508, an output may be generated indicating the final pattern match results, as described above with reference to FIG. 5.

FIG. 7C flowcharts another variant of the method of FIG. 6A, in which first pattern matching is used to determine the manner in which second pattern matching is performed.

As FIG. 7C shows, after receiving the image in 502 as described above, first pattern matching may be performed on the image using a plurality of different pattern matching techniques, as described above. In a preferred embodiment, the first pattern matching comprises coarse pattern matching, and determines a plurality of coarse candidate areas for each of the plurality of different pattern matching techniques, as indicated in 705.

Then, in 707, the coarse candidate areas may be analyzed to determine a subset of the plurality of pattern matching techniques based on a metric. In one embodiment, the metric may indicate a desired characteristic of the subset of pattern matching techniques. In one embodiment, a user may specify the metric. For example, the user may specify the metric using a Graphical User Interface (GUI) control, where the GUI is presented to the user by a program executing on the computer system. In one embodiment, the Graphical User Interface (GUI) control may include a slider control which is operable by the user to select a value indicating a degree of the desired characteristic.

For example, in one embodiment, the metric may indicate a desired degree of speed for the subset of pattern matching techniques. In another embodiment, the metric may indicate a desired degree of accuracy for the subset of pattern matching techniques. In one embodiment, the metric may indicate a desired degree of accuracy or speed for the subset of pattern matching techniques, where the accuracy and speed are inversely related. Thus, in one embodiment, the GUI may present a slider control to the user which allows the user to select the degree to which speed, or inversely, accuracy, should be considered when selecting the subset of pattern matching techniques. For example, the slider control's left-most position may indicate that accuracy is the desired characteristic of the pattern match, and, conversely, the slider control's right-most position may indicate that speed is the desired characteristic of the pattern match. Intermediate positions may thus indicate corresponding degrees of accuracy/speed desired in the subset of pattern matching techniques.

In 712, second pattern matching may be performed on each of the plurality of coarse candidate areas using the subset of pattern matching techniques determined in 707. The second pattern matching is preferably fine pattern matching, and so may determine one or more fine candidate areas for each of the subset of pattern matching techniques. Thus, the first or coarse pattern matching may be performed at a ‘low resolution’, and thus may be performed relatively quickly, while the second or fine pattern matching may be performed at a ‘high resolution’, requiring more time or cycles to perform. Thus, the coarse pattern matching may be used to generate an initial set of candidate areas (the coarse candidate areas) which may not only narrow the scope of the subsequent fine matching search, but which may also be used to narrow the type and number of pattern matching techniques to be brought to bear on the target image, i.e., on the coarse candidate areas.

In 714, the one or more fine candidate areas produced by each of the subset of pattern matching techniques may be analyzed to determine final pattern match results, as described above with reference to 608 of FIG. 6A. For example, the analysis may include generating a pattern matching score for each of the fine candidate areas and determining the final match results based on the scores. For example, the fine candidate areas may be analyzed and ranked according to match scores, as described above, where a match score for each of the plurality of candidate areas may be determined by calculating a raw score corresponding to each pattern matching technique, weighting each raw score according to the corresponding pattern matching technique to generate a set of weighted scores for the candidate area, and generating a weighted match score based on the set of weighted scores.

In another embodiment, the fine candidate areas may be analyzed and ranked by the number of ‘votes’ tallied for each candidate area, where a vote represents one pattern match technique which resulted in, or determined, that candidate area. In other words, if a fine candidate area was determined independently by three different pattern match techniques, then that fine candidate area would have three votes. In another embodiment, the analysis may include determining a ‘vote’ corresponding to each of the pattern matching techniques, where each vote indicates a best match candidate area for the respective technique. The votes may be tallied, and the fine candidate area receiving the most votes considered the best match.

Finally, in 508, output indicating the final pattern match results may be generated, as described above. In one embodiment, the output may be displayed in the Graphical User Interface.

FIG. 8—Pattern Matching Flowchart: Fourth Embodiment

FIG. 8 is a flowchart diagram illustrating a method for performing pattern matching according to another embodiment of the present invention. The method uses multiple pattern matching techniques to detect a pattern or template image in a target image. As mentioned above, in various embodiments, some of the steps may be performed in a different order than shown or may be omitted, as desired. Additional steps may also be performed.

As FIG. 8 shows, in 502 the image may be received by and/or stored in the computer system, as described above with reference to FIG. 5.

In 504 first pattern matching may be performed on the image using a first pattern matching technique, thereby determining a first plurality of candidate areas, as described above.

In 606 second pattern matching may be performed on the image using a second different pattern matching technique, thereby generating a second plurality of candidate areas. As mentioned above with reference to FIG. 5, the first and second pattern matching techniques may include any pattern matching techniques operable to detect a pattern in an image, provided that the first and second pattern matching techniques are different.

Then, in 808, third pattern matching may be performed on the first plurality of candidate areas using the second pattern matching technique to generate first pattern match results.

In 810, fourth pattern matching may be performed on the second plurality of candidate areas using the first pattern matching technique to generate second pattern match results.

In one embodiment, the first and second pattern matching may each comprise coarse pattern matching on the image, and the third and fourth pattern matching may each comprise fine pattern matching on the image. Thus, the first pattern matching technique may be performed in a coarse or low-resolution manner on the image, thereby generating the first (coarse) candidate areas. Then, the second pattern matching technique may be applied to each of the first (coarse) candidate areas in a fine or high-resolution manner to generate the first pattern match results. Similarly, the second pattern matching technique may be performed in a coarse or low-resolution manner on the image, thereby generating the second (coarse) candidate areas. Then, the first pattern matching technique may be applied to each of the second (coarse) candidate areas in a fine or high-resolution manner to generate the second pattern match results. Additionally, various of the pattern matching techniques may be performed concurrently, as described above.

In 812, the first match results and the second match results may be analyzed to determine final pattern match results. The analysis may include any of the techniques described above with reference to FIGS. 5 through 7C. In one embodiment, generating the first and second pattern match results may include generating third and fourth candidate areas, respectively, and so the third and fourth candidate areas may be analyzed as described above to determine final pattern match results.

Finally, in 508, an output may be generated indicating the final pattern match results.

FIG. 9—Pattern Matching Flowchart: Fifth Embodiment

FIG. 9 is a flowchart diagram illustrating one embodiment of a method for performing pattern matching using multiple pattern matching techniques to detect a pattern or template image in two or more target images. As mentioned above, in various embodiments, some of the steps may be performed in a different order than shown or may be omitted, as desired. Additional steps may also be performed. Descriptions of steps which are substantially the same as corresponding steps of FIGS. 5-8 may be abbreviated.

As FIG. 9 shows, in 902 an image of a first type, i.e., the target image, may be received by and/or stored in the computer system, as described above. In one embodiment, the image may be a test image which includes one or more known matching patterns. In other words, the image may include patterns which are known to match the template image to various degrees. Thus, the test image may be used to test the efficacy of different matching techniques, as described below.

In 904, first pattern matching may be performed on the image using a plurality of different pattern matching techniques, where the first pattern matching determines one or more candidate areas for each of the plurality of different pattern matching techniques. As mentioned above, any of a variety of different pattern matching techniques may be used to perform the first pattern matching, including hue plane pattern matching, color matching, correlation-based pattern matching, geometric pattern matching, and a luminance pattern matching, among others. In one embodiment, at least one of the plurality of pattern matching techniques may use a sub-sampling technique, such as, for example, a sampling technique based on low discrepancy sequences. In one embodiment, at least one of the plurality of pattern matching techniques may use a hill climbing technique.

In 908, the plurality of candidate areas produced by each of the plurality of different pattern matching techniques may be analyzed to select one of the pattern matching techniques from the plurality of pattern matching techniques. In one embodiment, the selection may be made based on a desired characteristic of a pattern matching task, such as, for example, match accuracy or speed/performance. In an embodiment where the image is a test image with known pattern matching areas, two or more of the pattern matching techniques may be selected from the plurality of pattern matching techniques.

In one embodiment, software executing on the computer system may present a Graphical User Interface (GUI) to the user which operates to receive user input specifying the desired characteristic prior to the analyzing. For example, the user may specify the desired characteristic using a GUI control, such as a slider control whereby the user may select a value indicating a degree of the desired characteristic, as described above with reference to FIG. 7C.

Thus, the results of the first pattern matching using each of the plurality of pattern matching techniques may be analyzed to determine which of the pattern matching techniques is most suitable for image of the first type. The selection may be made based on any of a variety of characteristics, including match scores, speed, and accuracy, among others.

In an embodiment in which the image of the first type is a test image, as mentioned above, the performance of each of the plurality of pattern matching techniques may be compared to pre-determined matching scores for the known matching patterns in the test image. The selection of the pattern matching techniques may then be made based on the degree to which the pattern match agrees with the pre-determined matching scores. It is noted that this feature may cull some pattern matching techniques which produce higher match scores than are appropriate for the known matching patterns in the test image, i.e., which result in over-matching, and therefore inaccurate, results.

In 910, a plurality of images of the first type may be received. In other words, more images may be received which are of the same type as the image received in 902. As described above, these images may be received from a variety of sources, including an external image source, a camera comprised in the computer system, i.e., a “smart camera”, or from an external system coupled to the computer system over a network, among others.

In 912, pattern matching may be performed on each of the plurality of images of the first type using the selected one of the pattern matching techniques, thereby generating pattern match results. In an embodiment where the image is a test image with known matching patterns, the selected two or more of the pattern matching techniques may be used to perform the pattern matching.

Finally, in 508, an output may be generated indicating the pattern match results, as described above.

In one embodiment, the first pattern matching described in 904 may comprise coarse pattern matching, and may be performed on the image using the plurality of different pattern matching techniques to determine one or more coarse candidate areas for each of the plurality of different pattern matching techniques. Performing the coarse pattern matching may include generating a match score associated with each pattern matching technique for each coarse candidate area.

The method may also include determining a best score from the match scores, where the best score indicates a best pattern match. In this embodiment, the selection of 908 may include selecting a pattern matching technique from the plurality of different pattern matching techniques based on the best score. In other words, a high match score may be the desired characteristic used to select the preferred pattern matching technique.

In this embodiment, the method may then perform fine pattern matching on each of the plurality of coarse candidate areas using the selected pattern matching technique to determine the one or more final match candidate areas, which may then be output, as described above.

As mentioned and described above, various of the pattern matching techniques may be performed concurrently, as desired.

Thus, in a preferred embodiment, the pattern matching performed on the image of the first type received in 902 may be used to ascertain a preferred pattern matching technique for images of the first type. For example, if the image of the first type were a gray-scale image, the results of the first pattern matching performed in 904 may indicate that a luminance pattern matching technique detects the pattern most effectively, and thus, the luminance pattern technique may preferably be used for subsequent images of that type (i.e., gray-scale images). For another example, if the image received in 902 were a diffuse color image, such as a complex thermal image, the preferred pattern matching technique may be a color match technique, or a hue plane pattern match. Thus, in the manner described above, an analysis of pattern matching results performed on an image of a first type may allow more efficient and/or effective pattern matching on subsequent images of the same type.

Although the system and method of the present invention has been described in connection with several embodiments, it is not intended to be limited to the specific forms set forth herein, but on the contrary, it is intended to cover such alternatives, modifications, and equivalents, as can be reasonably included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. 

1. A method for detecting patterns in an image, the method comprising: receiving a first image of a first type; performing first pattern matching on the first image using a plurality of different pattern matching techniques, wherein said performing pattern matching determines one or more candidate areas for each of said plurality of different pattern matching techniques; analyzing the one or more candidate areas determined by each of said plurality of different pattern matching techniques to select one of the pattern matching techniques; receiving a plurality of images of the first type; performing pattern matching on each of the plurality of images of the first type using said selected one of the pattern matching techniques, thereby generating pattern match results; and generating output indicating said pattern match results.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of pattern matching techniques comprises two or more of: a geometric pattern matching technique; a correlation-based pattern matching technique; a color matching technique; a hue plane pattern matching technique; or a luminance pattern matching technique.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of pattern matching techniques comprises one or more of: a coarse pattern matching technique; or a fine pattern matching technique.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of pattern matching techniques uses a hill-climbing technique.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of pattern matching techniques uses a sub-sampling technique.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein said analyzing the one or more candidate areas determined by each of said plurality of different pattern matching techniques to select one of the pattern matching techniques comprises selecting one of the pattern matching techniques based on a desired characteristic of a pattern matching task, the desired characteristic comprising one or more of: accuracy; or speed.
 7. The method of claim 1, further comprising: a Graphical User Interface (GUI) receiving user input specifying a desired characteristic of a pattern matching task prior to said analyzing, wherein said selecting one of the pattern matching techniques is based on said desired characteristic.
 8. The method of claim 7, wherein the user specifying said desired characteristic comprises the user specifying said characteristic using a GUI control.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein said Graphical User Interface (GUI) control comprises a slider control; and wherein said slider control is operable by the user to select a value indicating a degree of said desired characteristic.
 10. The method of claim 1, wherein said performing first pattern matching comprises generating a first pattern matching score for each of the plurality of candidate areas, and wherein the one or more candidate areas are determined based on said first pattern matching scores.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein said performing first pattern matching comprises generating a first pattern matching score for each of the plurality of candidate areas, and wherein said analyzing the one or more candidate areas includes analyzing the first pattern matching scores.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein said analyzing the first pattern matching scores comprises: comparing the first pattern matching scores to pre-determined matching scores for known matching patterns in the first image.
 13. The method of claim 1, wherein two or more of the plurality of pattern matching techniques are performed concurrently.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein the two or more of the plurality of pattern matching techniques are performed concurrently using a multiprocessor computer system.
 15. The method of claim 13, wherein the two or more of the plurality of pattern matching techniques are performed concurrently using a plurality of programmable hardware elements.
 16. The method of claim 13, wherein the two or more of the plurality of pattern matching techniques are performed concurrently using one or more processors and one or more programmable hardware elements.
 17. A system for detecting patterns in an image, the system comprising: an input which is operable to receive images from one or more image sources; a processor; and a memory medium coupled to the processor, wherein the memory medium stores one or more pattern matching programs for detecting patterns in the image; wherein said input is operable to perform: receiving a first image of a first type wherein the processor is operable to execute the one or more pattern matching programs to implement: performing first pattern matching on the first image using a plurality of different pattern matching techniques, wherein said performing pattern matching determines one or more candidate areas for each of said plurality of different pattern matching techniques; analyzing the one or more candidate areas produced by each of said plurality of different pattern matching techniques to select one of the pattern matching techniques; wherein said input is further operable to perform: receiving a plurality of images of the first type; and wherein the processor is further operable to execute the one or more pattern matching programs to implement: performing pattern matching on each of the plurality of images of the first type using said selected one of the pattern matching techniques, thereby generating pattern match results; and generating output indicating said pattern match results.
 18. A system for detecting patterns in an image, the system comprising: means for receiving a first image of a first type; means for performing first pattern matching on the first image using a plurality of different pattern matching techniques to determine a plurality of candidate areas for each of said plurality of different pattern matching techniques; means for analyzing the plurality of candidate areas determined by each of said plurality of different pattern matching techniques to select one of the plurality of pattern matching techniques; means for receiving a plurality of images of the first type; means for performing pattern matching on each of the plurality of images of the first type using said selected one of the pattern matching techniques, thereby generating pattern match results; and means for outputting said pattern match results.
 19. A computer-accessible memory medium comprising program instructions for detecting a pattern in an image, wherein the program instructions are executable by one or more processors to implement: receiving a first image of a first type; performing pattern matching on the first image using a plurality of different pattern matching techniques, wherein said performing pattern matching determines one or more candidate areas for each of said plurality of different pattern matching techniques; analyzing the one or more candidate areas produced by each of said plurality of different pattern matching techniques; selecting one of the pattern matching techniques in response to said analyzing; receiving a plurality of images of the first type; performing pattern matching on each of the plurality of images of the first type using said selected one of the pattern matching techniques, thereby generating pattern match results; and generating output indicating said pattern match results. 